Mercosur to unblock talks, EU trade chief sees U.S. negotiations

Mercosur to unblock talks, EU trade chief sees U.S. negotiations

SANTIAGO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur will exchange offers on opening up their markets by the end of this year, the EU's trade chief said on Saturday as both sides try to unblock long-stalled free-trade negotiations.

"A tremendous effort has been made to install new momentum into the discussions," EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht told Reuters in an interview.

De Gucht, who handles trade issues for the 27 nations of the European Union, also signalled he expected Europe and the United States to go ahead with talks on a possible free-trade accord.